Sunday dinner: Grilled chipotle-orange chicken salad

Patricia Conte has a background in marketing communications and works as an independent writer. In 2010, she was given the opportunity to combine her love of writing and food when she started as a contributing writer for the Food channel...

Mix together citrus and spice

Upgrade your chicken salad with a spicy, citrusy flavor. A little spice (and citrus) is always nice when tossed together for a main dish meal.

This Sunday dinner recipe for grilled chipotle-orange chicken salad offers a burst of vibrant flavors. Fire up the grill for this main dish that gets tossed with fresh greens and a citrus dressing and then sprinkled with a bit of Cotija cheese.

Pepper this salad with your favorite "bits and pieces," like corn kernels, chunks of avocado or toasted pepitas. The orange segments I used in this recipe are a nice way to tie together the marinade and salad dressing.

Directions:

Place 1/3 of the mixture in a large sealable plastic baggie. Add the chicken breasts to the baggie. Seal the baggie, and massage the mixture into the chicken. Refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Reserve the remaining mixture for basting the chicken.

For the salad dressing

In a medium bowl, whisk together the 2 tablespoons of orange juice, the olive oil, white wine vinegar and the remaining orange zest. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Taste, and adjust the seasoning as needed.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

For the chicken

Remove the chicken from the marinade (discard the marinade), and grill it over medium heat for about 15 minutes. Use the reserved marinade to baste the chicken as it cooks.

Flip the chicken once or twice during cooking, basting it on both sides. The USDA notes that a safe internal temperature for chicken is 165 degrees F, as measured by a meat thermometer.

When finished cooking, remove the chicken from the heat, and let sit for a few minutes. Cut the chicken into cubes.

Assemble the salad

In a large bowl, toss the romaine lettuce and red bell pepper with the salad dressing. Divide the mixture among 4 bowls.

Add the grilled chicken pieces and orange segments over the lettuce and red pepper pieces.